Operation Epsom

Before EPSOM in late June 1944 there remained the chance that a German counter-stroke might seriously threaten the bridgehead. After EPSOM, the Allies retained the strategic initiative through to the liberation of France and Belgium. This was a battle in which highly trained but largely inexperienced British 'follow-up' divisions, newly arrived in Normandy, confronted some of the best equipped, best led and battle-hardened formations of the Third Reich. Beginning with a set-piece British assault on the German lines in dense terrain, the battle developed into swirling armoured action on the open slopes of Hills 112 and 113, before the British turned to grimly defending their gains in the face of concentric attacks by two full SS-Panzer Korps. This entirely new study brings together previously unseen evidence to present an important Normandy battle in very great detail. The unfolding action is illustrated using aerial photography of the battlefield and period Army maps.